Mr BOHLIN - 2011-05-04
Yesterday on ABC radio, and in the paper this morning, you refused to reveal the extent of the infrastructure budget revote. As you know, the revote shows how much of the infrastructure budget you did not spend. Can you tell Territorians the extent of the infrastructure revote? Given you say the revote always straddles two financial years because of the building season, why have you re-announced your 2009 commitment to spend $5m revitalising the Alice Springs mall, and not simply got on with delivering it?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is misleading to say I refused to answer on ABC radio. I made it very clear to Alex that I did not have the revote figures in front of me. What I did say to Alex on ABC radio is the revote is decreasing from the 2010-11 to the 2011-12 year. I refer you to Budget Paper No 4, which I have with me. I did not have it at my desk when I was talking to Alex on the radio. I made it clear it was simply the case that I did not have that information at hand, not that I was refusing to answer. Do not be misleading in your question.
If refer you to Budget Paper No 4, page 10, which has the 2010-11 capital works and estimated capital expenditure. In 2010-11 the revote in was $809.5m, the revote out is $649m. Therefore, the revote in 2011-12 is $649m and the revote out in 2011-12 is $479m. We have a bigger build and bigger spend that has occurred throughout the 2010-11 financial year, which has not finished yet. Obviously, it finishes on 30 June. Despite it being a record year of infrastructure spend, we are spending and getting the jobs done at a greater rate than we ever had in the history of infrastructure in the Territory, despite the very wet Wet Season we have had.
What I also explained to Alex - which you in the opposition seem not to be able to grasp - is that revotes occur because capital works straddle financial years. The context of the Northern Territory is pretty simple; you build in the Dry Season. You do as much preparatory works as you can before the rain hits, but the big build occurs in the Dry Season. We have big projects such as Tiger Brennan Drive, the roads projects, the bridge projects and the like.
What you do is provide for capital grants. The CBD grant that went to Alice Springs was always promised for a particular year in the cycle, and we have delivered that in the year we said we would. That is a capital grant to the Alice Springs Town Council to revitalise the CBD. It was announced in an election commitment and was always pegged for the financial year we have delivered it in.
You are more than welcome to receive a briefing when it comes to understanding the program. If you look at Budget Paper No 4, the 2010-11 cash is $1.7m, and the 2011-12 cash is $1.471m, which we round up to a $1.5m spend. That is a significant spend going out into the pockets of Territory businesses, creating jobs - and you clowns would slash it.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is misleading to say I refused to answer on ABC radio. I made it very clear to Alex that I did not have the revote figures in front of me. What I did say to Alex on ABC radio is the revote is decreasing from the 2010-11 to the 2011-12 year. I refer you to Budget Paper No 4, which I have with me. I did not have it at my desk when I was talking to Alex on the radio. I made it clear it was simply the case that I did not have that information at hand, not that I was refusing to answer. Do not be misleading in your question.
If refer you to Budget Paper No 4, page 10, which has the 2010-11 capital works and estimated capital expenditure. In 2010-11 the revote in was $809.5m, the revote out is $649m. Therefore, the revote in 2011-12 is $649m and the revote out in 2011-12 is $479m. We have a bigger build and bigger spend that has occurred throughout the 2010-11 financial year, which has not finished yet. Obviously, it finishes on 30 June. Despite it being a record year of infrastructure spend, we are spending and getting the jobs done at a greater rate than we ever had in the history of infrastructure in the Territory, despite the very wet Wet Season we have had.
What I also explained to Alex - which you in the opposition seem not to be able to grasp - is that revotes occur because capital works straddle financial years. The context of the Northern Territory is pretty simple; you build in the Dry Season. You do as much preparatory works as you can before the rain hits, but the big build occurs in the Dry Season. We have big projects such as Tiger Brennan Drive, the roads projects, the bridge projects and the like.
What you do is provide for capital grants. The CBD grant that went to Alice Springs was always promised for a particular year in the cycle, and we have delivered that in the year we said we would. That is a capital grant to the Alice Springs Town Council to revitalise the CBD. It was announced in an election commitment and was always pegged for the financial year we have delivered it in.
You are more than welcome to receive a briefing when it comes to understanding the program. If you look at Budget Paper No 4, the 2010-11 cash is $1.7m, and the 2011-12 cash is $1.471m, which we round up to a $1.5m spend. That is a significant spend going out into the pockets of Territory businesses, creating jobs - and you clowns would slash it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016